Furnace construction



. y 1, 1934- R. c. DENNY 1,957,098

FURNACE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 13. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

: EJ M y 1934- R. c.- DENNY FURNACE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 13, 1951 2Sheets-Sheet 2 ootzseeoestos to, test, its: 7

2s claims, (oi. ite s;

This invention reletes'to furnace coustructioo, end it pertainsparticularly to :Zumsces of large sue, such as boiler furnaces, that arefired by burners arranged to nject powdered, liquid or gaseous fuelthrough appropriate 'laumer Opel'i ings in the furnace well.

A general object of the'invention istlie ps0 vision of improvedconstruction for furnace wall. portiom arranged to provide burneropenings.

A morevpsrticuler object is tlie'provision of such construction adoptedto withstand effective iv the iornece heat and erosive influences to"cicl it is subjected in use, which "e as se oi-ed end tepelred withfacility, and Wiiicie is particularly qualified to withstand tilevibration or pulsations quite generally produced in such pcitioiisoiiomsee incident to operation of the corners. A

Another pertioulor object of the invention is the provision of such aconstmotion employing comparatively smell sis-ed ere-formed. reix'sctobies, and wherein the refractories ere def iitelv retained in the desiredposition and relation in the structui'e in such fashion that they mayhove a desired mobility or'edjustsbility with respect to one another andwith respect to re taming parts, to avoid their being subjected todestructive pressures. Y Another object is the provision of such aconstruction suitable for forming a solitary homer opening or aplurelitv of burner openings in. essociotion.

Other nd'further objects will be pointed out or indicated hereinafter orwill be apparent to 35 one skilled in the art upon an understanding oithe invention or its employment in practice,

For the purpose of aiding in e full disclosure of the inventiomliillustrate in the accompanying drawings, and hereinafter describe,certain structures as examples of embodiment of the invention, but it isto be understood that these are presented merely for purpose ofillustration, and

hence are. not to be construed in any fashion celculstedto limit theappended claims-short of the true and most comprehensive scope of theinveution in'tl'ie art.

In said drawings, Fig. l is a sectional elevational view of a; por= tionof furnace wall and associated burner'p'arts -0 showing. two burneropenings, one disposed above the other, the section being taken alongthever tical diameter of the burner openings;

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are perspectivesillustrating I three forms ofrefractories employed in the con- 55 struction illustrated in Fig; 1;

Fig. 5 is so elevetiooel view of the inner side of the construction at eburner opening; the right hood of the figure Licvlng the reirec toriesremoved for the purpose of showigigifreme poitioosz i d is. as sectionalof it. 5; i

7 is o oessgeotive view of o fled eoost octioo; i V

tie at oersoeetive illostretioo oi soother retract-ow; end

bracket.

These are various types of bum-er oi" iuel fecal ing apparatus employedfor of largefumsces by injection of powdesied fuel, oil, or gas,together with primers combustion air,

view loom .ot the left most.

peotive illustretlon of o bang r through burner openings in the fumeswell. It

is usuelly neo%sary that the so-cslleo'; burners or nozzles from whichthe tool is disclietged lie po sitioned e substantial distance from theinner side of the well, in order that they may be P31- tected from theiuroeee heat in so for as possiele.

in most large iumaoes the wall in which. the

burner cosmos is located usually liesto be oi 8 quite substantialthickness in order to withstand the heat and possess the desired beetconfining character, and the burner openings have to be oi considerablesize in order to efiordtlee requisite capacity for introduction oi fueland air, and the tlilckciess 01" the well necessarily involves theirbeing of considerable length. The provisiou of burner openings,particularly openings of circule'r or curved contour, through therefractory wells oi? large furnaces has presented serious 9difiiculties, as shown in the rather frequent follure of the refractorywall portions which are in association with or which bound such burneropenings. Toe portions at the inner side of the furnace well aresubjected to much higher heat than those portions toward. the outer sideof the wellsnd are subject to much greater thermal, exoemsion. The wellportions'in association with. the burners, moreover, are usuallysubiectedto very appreciable vibration or pulsations attend 1 out uponthe secretion 01' the fuel injecting oppse rotus. These circumstanceshave rendered it quite difilcult to psovide a, construction which willhave suficient stability and security to wt -7 stand the vibrations overlong periods, mud at 1 the some time possess suficient flexibility toac- .coodate the difierences in thermal expansion between interior andouter parts. The present invention provides o construction wherein preformed itstreet/cries of moderste Qze are assem- 1 bled ina'relationship affording an opening of the desired form, the refractorystructure being supported on an external frame positioned outside thehigh temperature zone of the furnace, and the refractories beinganchored in-place in such fashion that they will retain the desiredrelationship and positions, but may have a limited freedom of individualmovement, giving the structure a desirable internal flexibility whichaccommo-=- dates expansion and contraction and safeguards its componentparts against destructive pressures. Superjacent portions of the furnacewall are supported in such fashion that their weight is not imposed uponthe refractories which bound the burner opening, and these latter arelikewise supported in such fashion that their weight is not imposed onthe refractories in subjacent wall portions or those which formsubjaoent or laterally associated burner openings. lhe construction issuch that the entire refractory structure involved may be built ofpre-formed refractories, thus eliminating any necessity for piecing orpatching with plastic material.

'I'he'natureof the invention will be understood in more detail byreference to the examples iilus-- trated in the drawings. In Fig. l thereference numeral 10 designates one of a plurality of upright framemembers, which are disposed along the furnace wall and constitute themain supporting element thereof. Suitable plate portions 11 are attachedto the inner flanges of the members 10 and are supported thereby in avertical plane, these plate portions being shaped at the margins toafford openings corresponding to the location of the burner-openings. Inthe examples here illustrated these boundary margins. are arcuate so asto conform to a round bumer opening. At these openings is a cast ironring 12, which may be formed in segments and bolted through the plateportions and to the flanges of the burner collar 15, which is positionedoutside the wall and suitably supported, as on the frame. At its innerend the ring 12 is flanged to provide the inwardly presented shoulder 12and the longitudinally presented ledge 12 Above and below the ring 12,horizontally extending angle members 16 are secured to the plate membersll and have at their inner margins flanges disposd in a vertical plane.At opposite sides of the ring 12 cast iron anchor bars 17 (see Figs. 5and 6) are supported in vertical position onangle seats 18 and thesubjacent members 16. These anchor bars have spaced laterally projectinglugs 1'7. extending fromv their inner margins. Flanged angle members 19,like the members 16, are secured in diagonal or sloping positionadjacent the ring 12, as illustrated in Fig. 5, being bolted to theplate member.

The furnace wall'portions above and below and alongside the burneropening structure are made up of refractories 20 supported on the framestructure by means of hangers 21 as in the fashion illustratediin the U.S. Patent to Frank.

I. Sheahan, No. 1,875,667, the weight of these refractories being takenby the shelves 21 of the hangers, and their outer ends are spaced fromthe plate members 11 so as to afford an intervening air circulatingspace. The refractories'which bound the burner opening comprise innerrefractories 22,- 24 and 25 and outer refractories 26. The refractories22 and 24 are of the same form, but shaped as lefts'and rights.

'Their lateral faces 24", converge from the outer.

face 24", so that they are wedge shaped, and their inner margin isirregular so as to afford a convex portion 24 and a notched portion 24.Their outer sides are notched at the outer end to provide an in-setportion 24* and a pocket 24, and an arcuate groove 24 is provided acrosstheir outer ends. The refractories 25 (Fig. 3) are of similar form, buttheir outer sides are anticlinal as shown. The outer refractories 26(Fig. 4) have their inner ends shaped to fit in the notched portion 24of the refractories 22, 24 and 25, so that their convex inner surfaces26 will coalasce with the curved inner surfaces 24 of the innerrefractories. They also have the notches 26 and 26 extending acrosstheir outer faces. The wedge form of the refractories 22, 24 and 25 issuch that when/disposed in the order illustrated in Fig. 5 with thelateral faces of juxtaposed ones in abutment, they will form a completecollar. In assembly, those at the bottom of the burner opening aresupported on the ledge 12 of the ring, and on bracket hangers 2'7. Thesebracket hangers are cast iron members having ledge portions 27 withanchor lugs 2'7 thereon, and hook portions 2'7 adapted to engage overthe upper flanges of the members 16 and maintain the bracket hangerstheren with the ledge 2'? in a horizontal position. The ledge portion ofa bracket hanger is accommodated by the notched portion 24 of therefractory, the lug 2'7 extending into the pocket 24 and serving toprevent withdrawal of the refractory inwardly from the ledge portion.The groove 24 of each refractory accommodates the shoulder portion 12 ofthe ring. Similar bracket hangers are likewise mounted on the diagonalangle members 19 and hold the refractories 22 and 24 which are nextabove the four lowermost in the assembly. The next four refractories, ateach side of the assembly, are anchored in place by engagement of thelugs 17 of the hanger bars in their pockets, as illustrated in Figs. 5andg6, the weight of these refractories being supported in part therebyand in part by the ones therebelow. The next two refractories on eachside are anchored in place by hanger brackets which are supported on theupper diagonal angle members 19, while the four refractories in thecrown of the assembly are supported on the shoulder 12 of the ring andanchored in place by hanger brackets connected to the upper anglemembers 16. The refractories 26 are supported by the ring 12, and an-"chored in place by engagement ofthe ring shoulder 12 in the grooves 26the inner ends of said refractories fitting in the notched portions 24of the inner refractories. As observed in Fig. 5, the shoulder portion1281s omitted at the top portion of the ring, so that the tworefractories 26 at the top of the assembly may be slid directly intoplace before the two uppermost refractories 22 and 24 are put in place,these two uppermost refractories 26 being held by said innerrefractories against displacement inwardly.

The length of the refractories 22, 24 and 25 is such as to correspondapproximately to the desired thickness of the refractory wall, so that,their inner ends willlie in approximately the same plane as the innerwall surface, andtheir outer ends will be spaced from the plate members11 so as to afford an air circulation space. The I length of therefractories 26 is such as to extend across this air space and acrossthe ring 12, so that when the assembly is completed they .tinuousrefractory collar or sleeve which gives the opening the desired contourand which isv made up of a plurality of relatively small re-'fractories. It will be observed that all of the refractories aredefinitely anchored in place in such fashion that they are held againstshifting inwardly or outwardly out of the desired association with oneanother, but at the same time have a limited extent of individualmovement.

' This limited mobility is afforded by a certain amount of play or loosefit between the refrac-' tories and their anchoring members, the variousgrooves and pockets of the refractories being of sumcient size to admitsuch play on the anchoring portions 12 12', 17 and 27*. It will beobserved, moreover, that the refractory collar or sleeve formed by theassembledrefractories is,

in a sense, flexible due to the permissible mobil- "ity of the innerrefractories with respect to the 'outer refractories, so thatdifferences of expan sion as between the inward portions of thestructure and the outward portions of the same are quite freelyaccommodated and the integrity and continuity of the refractorystructure thus preserved and the refractories safeguarded againstfracture. I

Inasmuch as the refractory collar thus formed by the refractories 22,2d, and 25 is ofgenerally octagonal peripheral outline, whereas thecontiguous-portions of the wall structure run on horizontal and verticallines, there remain triangular portions which must be fitted with re-.

fractories. These portions are fitted withthe triangular refractories28, which are formed at their outer ends with'the groovesand pockets 28in which lugs 27 of someof the hanger brackets and lugs 17 of. thehanger bars are engaged, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, to anchorthese triangular refractories in place. Outwardly from the wall, andfacing the wall portions in which the burner openings are located, arecasing plates or the like 30 which formportions of an enclosure thatfunctions as a wind box forthe supplying of primary combustion air tothe burner openings, this wind box affording ample space for the freecirculation of airin' contact with the portions of the frame memberswhich are enclosed therein, for cooling effect. Air inlets 31 areprovided at suitable locations for admission.- of external air into theair circulating space between the plate 11 and the outer ends of therefractories, said air being free to flow upwardly in contact with thewall refractcries and the burner opening refractories and in contactwith the ,various metallic supporting and-anchoring members 21, 27, i2,16, etc., for cooling effect, said air passing out of the air spacethrough suitable openings at the top of the structure. By thisprovision-for cooling, the metallic members are safeguarded againstrapid deterioration by heat, and the life of the refractories islikewise augmented.

The assembly shown in Fig. '7 illustrates a somewhat modifiedconstruction, in which the burnerring 12 is mounted on supplementaryframe members 13 and the outer refractories 26 are-of such length as toextend inwardly across such supplementary frame members and across theair space at their inner side, said refractories resting at theirinner-ends within the notched portions of the inner refractories 23 andat their outer ends within the channel of the ring 12'.

The inner refractorieaas in the form first described, are supported andanchored in position by hanger brackets 27' clamped to the suptrationthe refractory collar is shown as. of cylindrical form instead ofinwardly flaring form as in the previous example, and has transverseflexibility and mobility of its component refractories such as toaccommodate differences of expansion as between inward and outward partsof the structure. 1

What I claim is: *1. Furnace structure comprising, in combination, awall-supporting frame, refractories supported by said frame but, spacedtherefrom toform a furmace wall, inner wedge shaped refractoriessupported by and anchored to the frame and disposed in the plane of saidwall in association to form a ring encircling a burner opening throughthe wall, and other wedgeshapedref-ractories supported by the frame andassociated with said inner wedge shaped refractories to form extendedwalls for said burner opening continuing outwardly from the inner wedgeshaped refractories.

'2. In furnace construction, the combination of a wall-supporting frame,refractories supported by said frame to form a furnace wall spacedtherefrom to afford an intervening air space, inner wedge shapedrefractories supported by and anchored to the frame and disposed in theplane of said furnace wall in association to en= compass an openingtherethrough, and outer refractories supported by'the frame with theirinplementary frame members 13. In this illusner ends in association withsaid inner. refrac tories, said outer refractories extending outwardlyacross the air space in association to form outwardly continuing wallsfor said opening.

3. In furnace construction, in combination, a wall-supporting frame,refractories supportedby the frame to form a furnace wall spacedtherefrom, inner refractories supported by the frame in association toform a collar affording a pas sage through the furnace wall, and outerrefractories supported by the frame in association with saidv innerrefractories to form a sleeve extending outwardly from said innerrefractories and affording an outward extension of said passage.

4. A furnace wall structure comprising, in combination, awall-supporting frame,- wedge shaped refractories supported by saidframe and anchored thereto in association to form a collar spacedcollaterally from the frame and constituting the boundary of a wallopening, and outer refractories supported by'tbe frame with their innerends adjoining said wedge shaped refractories and their outer portionsextendingoutwardly therefrom, said outer refractories being asociated toform the boundary of an outward extension of said wall opening.

5. In a furnace wall, in combination, an external wall-supporting frame,wedge shaped refractories supported thereby to form a collar bounding awall 'opening with the divergent faces of said refractories extendingradially from said opening, means anchoring said refractories to theframe, and refractories supported by the frame independently of saidcollar to form a wall portion adjoining and continuing upwardly fromsaid collar.

6. In a furnace wall, in combination, a frame at the outer side of thewall, a ring supported by and extending inwardly from the frame towardthe furnace chamber, refractories arranged to form a collar encompassinga wall opening and having their outer ends within said ring, saidrefractories extending inwardly toward the furnace chamber from saidring, and means'anchoring said refractories against displacementlongitudinally of said wall opening. Y

7. Furnace wall structure as specified in claim 6 and including innerrefractories contacting the inner ends of said first mentionedrefractories and extending therefrom inwardly toward the furnace chamberand means anchoring said inner refractories to the frame to preventtheir displacement inwardly.

8. In a furnace wall, in combination, a frame, refractories supportedthereby but spaced inwardly therefrom and arranged to form the boundaryof a wall opening, said refractories having notched outer end portions,and other refractories seated in said notched portions and extendingoutwardly toward the frame to form an extension of said wall openingboundary.

9. A furnace structure comprising, in combination, a frame disposedexternally of the furnace chamber, a burner ring supported thereby, arefractory wall supported on the frame but spaced inwardly therefrom toafford an intervening air chamber, outer refractories supported at theirouter ends on the burner ring and extending across said air chamber,said outerrefractories arranged to form a collar bounding a burneropening, inner refractories supported in the wall to form a collarportion bounding a continuation of the burner opening through the wall,and means anchoring the inner refractories to the frame to retain themin the wall but .permitting them limited individual movement relative tothe outer refractories.

10. A furnace structure as specified in claim 9 and wherein said burnerring and anchoring means are exposed in the said air chamber and thelatter is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet for the passingof air through the air chamher for cooling effect on the parts exposedtherein.

11. A furnace structure comprising, in combination, a frame. disposedexternally of the furnace chamber, a burner ring supported on the frame,a refractory wall spaced inwardly from the frame to afford anintervening air chamber, outer refractories supported at their outerends on the burner ring and associated in the form of a collar extendingacross the air chamber, inner refractories disposed in the wall in theform of a collar the orifice of which together with the orifice of saidfirst mentioned collar afford a continuous burner opening debouchinginto the furnace chamber, andar'ichoring means anchoring said innerrefractories to the frame to prevent their displacement inwardly out ofcontact with the outer refractories, said anchoring means permittingsaid inner refractories limited movement relative to said outerrefractories.

12. A furnace structure comprising, in combination, a frame, arefractory furnace wall disposed collaterally of said frame andaffording a burner opening, a plurality of inner wedgeshapedrefractories disposed in said wall with their divergent faces extendingradially from said opening, to form a collar around said burner opening,a wind box disposed at the outer side of v the wall and spaced from saidinner refractories, a plurality of outer wedge-shaped refractoriesdisposed in complementary relationship with their inner ends adjoiningsaid inner refractories and their outer ends supported by the frame toform a conduit leading from said wind box to said burner opening, andmeans anchoring the inner refractories to the frame to retain them inassociation with the outer refractories.

13. A furnace structure as specified in claim 12 and wherein said innerrefractories are supported by the frame and the superjacent wallrefractories are supported by the frame independently of the innerrefractories.

14. A structural element for furnace wall construction consisting of arefractory tile of wedgeshaped cross section, the longitudinal lateralfaces of which converge from the longitudinal outer face, said tilebeing provided with a pocket adjacent one end, which pocket has itsopening in the said outer face for reception of an anchoring member,said tile being formed with a notched portion affording an inset in. theside opposite said outer face and said pocket.

15. In a furnace structure, in combination, a frame, a refractory wallsupported thereon and spaced inwardly therefrom, said refractory wallincluding refractories arranged therein to encompass a burner opening, aburner ring supported independently of said refractory wall, and outerrefractories supported by said burner ring and extending outwardly fromsaid first mentioned refractories to form a sleeve encompassing anoutward continuation of said burner opening.

16. In a furnace structure having a refractory furnace wall and a burnercollar spaced outwardly therefrom and affording a burner opening, thecombination of wedge-shaped refractories arranged in said wall to form arefractory collar encompassing a burner opening through the wall incoaxial alignment with said burner opening of the burner collar, anannular member connected to'said burner collar and extending toward therefractory wall. a plurality of outer refractories havingtheir outerends disposed within and supported by said annular member, said outerrefractories arranged to form a sleeve positioned coaxially with saidburner openings and having its inner end adjoining said refractorycollar, a frame disposed externally of the furnace wall, and

means anchoring said wedge-shaped refractories to the frame to hold themin association'with said outer refractories yet permitting them limitedmovement relative to one another and to said outer refractories.

17. In a furnace structure having a furnace chamber wall and a burnercollar spaced outwardly therefrom and affording a burner opening, thecombination of inner refractories disposed in said wall to form theboundary of a burner opening through the wall, said burner opening beingcoaxially aligned with the burner opening of the burner collar, outerrefractories arranged to form a sleeve between said burner collar andinner refractories, said sleeve being coaxially aligned with the burneropenings of the wall and burner collar and adjoining the burner collarand inner refractories, and means anchoring said inner and outerrefractories in assembled position yet permitting them limited relativemovement in the assembly.

18. In a furnace structure, in combination, a frame, a refractory wallspaced therefrom, inner refractories supported on the frame and arrangedin the wall to form a collar, outer refractories supported on the frameand arranged to form a sleeve extending outwardly from the wall, saidcollar and said sleeve being coaxially aligned to form the boundary of aburner opening, and means anchoring said refractories in assembledrelationship yet permitting them limited relative movement in theassembly.

19. In a furnace structure, in combination, a frame, a refractory wallspaced therefrom, an annular member secured to the frame and extendingtoward the wall, outer wedge-shaped refractories retained in saidannular member to form a sleeve, inner wedge-shaped refractoriesassembled in the wall to form a collar adjoining the inner end of saidsleeve, said sleeve and said collar being coaxially aligned, and meansanchoring the inner wedge-shaped refractories to the frame to hold themin association with the outer wedge-shaped refractories.

20. In a furnace structure, in combination, a frame, outer refractoriessupported thereby and arranged to form a sleeve extending toward thefurnace chamber, inner refractories arranged to form a collarencompassing the inner end of said sleeve and extending therefrom towardthe furnace chamber, wall refractories arranged in adjoining associationwith said inner refractories and supported independently thereof, saidsleeve and--collar forming the boundary of a burner opening, and meansanchoring the inner refractories to the frame yet permitting themlimited movement relative to the outer refractories.

21. In a furnace structure, in combination, a frame, wedge-shapedrefractories supported by the frame and arranged to form a collaraffording an approximately circular burner opening, said collar having apolygonal peripheral contour, and refractory wall sections supported bythe frame independently of said wedge-shaped refractories in adjoiningassociation with peripheral sides of said collar.

22. In a furnace structure having a frame and A a burner collar in fixedassociation with the frame, the combination of an annular member infixed association with the burner collar, outer .refractories retainedby said annular member in association to form a sleeve extending fromthe burner collar toward the furnace chamber, a refractory wall spacedinwardly from the burner collar, and inner refractories arranged in saidwall to form a refractory collar encompassing the inner end of saidsleeve and extending inwardly therefrom, said refractory collar and saidsleeve encompassing a passage for admission. of fuel into the furnace,and means anchoring'the '85 inner refractories to the frame to hold themin assembled relationship with the outer refractories and burner collaryet permitting them limited movement relative thereto in the structure.

23. In a furnace structure, in combination, a wall frame, a refractoryfurnace wall spaced inwardly from said frame and including wedgeshapedrefractories supported by the frame and arranged to form a collarencompassing an opening through the wall, the divergent faces of saidwedge-shaped refractories extending radially from said opening, andmeans anchoring said refractories individually to the framebut allowingthem limited relative movement in their assembled relationship.

- 24. In a furnace wall structure, in combination, a wall-supportingframe, a wall plate secured thereto, a refractory furnace wall supportedon the frame but spaced inwardly therefrom and from said plate to forman intervening air passage, an annular member secured to the plate andextending inwardly therefrom, refractories arranged within said annularmember to form a refractory sleeve extending across the air passage,inner refractories arranged in the refractory wall to form a collaraffording a passage through the wall approximately in coaxial alignmentwith the aperture of said sleeve, and anchoring members anchoring saidinner refractories to the plate to retain them against displacementinwardly or outwardly from the refractory wall yet permitting themlimited relative movement in the assembled structure.

ROBERT C. DENNY.

